1. Guitar amps
In general, only very low-cost guitar amplifiers (and a few specialized
professional models) are predominantly solid-state. We have estimated that
at least 80% of the market for high-ticket guitar amps insists on all-tube
or hybrid models. Especially popular with serious professional musicians are
modern versions of classic Fender, Marshall and Vox models from the 1950s
and 1960s. This business is thought to represent at least $150 million
worldwide today, perhaps more (it's hard to determine, as most of the makers
of tubes and tube amplifiers today are private companies who are secretive
about their sales.)
Why tube amplifiers? It's the tone that musicians want. The amplifier and speaker become part of the musical instrument. The peculiar distortion and speaker-damping characteristics of a beam-tetrode or pentode amp, with an output transformer to match the speaker load, is unique and difficult to simulate with solid-state devices, unless very complex topologies or a digital signal processor are used. These methods apparently have not been successful; professional guitarists keep returning to tube amplifiers.
2. Professional audio
The recording studio is somewhat influenced by the prevalence of tube guitar
amps in the hands of musicians. Also, classic condenser microphones,
microphone preamplifiers, limiters, equalizers and other devices have become
valuable collectibles, as various recording engineers discover the value of
tube equipment in obtaining special sound effects. The result has been huge
growth in the sales and advertising of tube- equipped audio processors for
recording use. Although still a minor movement within the
multi-billion-dollar recording industry, tubed recording-studio equipment
probably enjoys double-digit sales growth today.
3. High-end audio
At its low point in the early 1970s, the sales of tube hi-fi equipment were
barely detectable against the bulk of the consumer-electronics boom. Yet
even in spite of the closure of American and European tube factories
thereafter, since 1985 the sales of "high-end" audio components have boomed.
And right along with them have boomed the sales of vacuum-tube audio
equipment for home use. The use of tubes in this regime has been very
controversial in engineering circles, yet the demand for tube hi-fi
equipment continues to grow.
Eric Barbour, Senior Editor VTV METASONIX